August 16, 2004
Tainted Bill: Up Close and Personal
Sick and tired of the Olympics coverage already? Then Tainted Bill is the place for you--one stop shopping for USA Men's Olympic Basketball mocking and boorish swimmer dunking.
Movies I think I'll skip
The horror...the horror....
Although I do have to admit the prospect of Rosie O'Donnell playing Kurtz is a whole lot better than, say, Rosie O'Donnell as an undercover cop at an S & M Resort.
LLAMABUTCHER EXCLUSIVE!!!
I know we're partisan pshop hitmen in service to our Dark Sith Lord Dick Cheney, but hey, I'm also a dedicated political scientist, and, well, as a believer in the Madisonian basis of our system I think fair is fair and when you've got something to help the other guys, well, you have a duty to let the truth come out.
Hugh Hewitt lays down the gauntlet and asks for proof--any proof, whatsoever--to back up John Kerry's rapidly fraying stories about his exploits in Cambodia during Vietnam. After basing his entire candidacy on the four months he spent "in country," and demanding his opponents to BRING. IT. ON., the question of Mr. Kerry's service in Vietnam becomes a real issue: not just his service in the Dukakis administration, or twenty years in the Senate slashing defense and intelligence budgets.
So the question of "Was John Kerry really in Cambodia on Christmas?" has become a real issue. This is part of his story that he's used as a partisan club again and again.
Now Hugh asks for proof, and fortunately through some connections we have at the Bartlett Presidential Library (okay, I caddied for Toby once) we have the proof:
The first picture is a little grainy, showing future President Bartlett standing watch on the bow of a Swift Boat as it enters Cambodia:
When you enlarge the picture, sure enough, there's Lt. JG Kerry at the wheel:
And you know, because of the jaunty chapeau, it must be Christmas!
So, Hugh, I think we all need to give a big apology to Mr. Kerry for doubting his veracity.
UPDATE: Dean Esmay (over on the Queen of All Evil's site) notes that the clock is starting to tick on this story...
HMQ Update
The crack young staff at the Hatemongers Quarterly encounter a wimminist moving company. Hilarity ensues.
Book meme of the morning
Big Stupid Tommy (who, we should note for the record is neither big, nor stupid, and whose name is actually "Chuck") floats the question as to movies that were better than the book.
Now while I would definitely nominate THIS opus, I would have to say that "Field of Dreams" as a movie works a lot better than the book Shoeless Joe, which is actually more a collection of short stories with the same characters than a novel. The opening story--Shoeless Joe Jackson Comes to Iowa--is still one of my favorite stories of all time, but the movie does a good job of making the fairy tale work by eliminating such characters as Ray's twin brother who works for a carnival.
Definitely what Al Gore had in mind when he invented the internet
And be sure to scroll up for the "Why did the US Mens Olympic Basket Ball Team cross the road?" ones.
Style Issues
It's taken me long enough, but I'm starting to get the hang of working with the stylesheet to get the look we want. Thanks for hanging with us during the move. And if you have any suggestions, drop us a line at llamabutchers@yahoo.com or in the comments section below. Thanks.
Lenin + photoshop=fun
The Commissar has intercepted a new talking points memo to be circulated among the usual sources on the left explaining showing how the Swift Boat vets are making some traction.
My initial reaction on this story was that it was not a winner: that it made much more sense to hammer Kerry on his record as Lt. Governor with Dukakis and 20 years cutting the Defense Department to shreds in the Senate. But it is interesting how this is starting to gain some traction.
UPDATE: How did I miss this last week? Rusty Schackleford is guest blogging over at Politburo Diktat--way to go, Rusty!
This is what campaign finance laws create
Long time readers (ie Rob's mom) know my antipathy for campaign finance laws: I'm a Madisonian at heart, and I see the desire to rid politics of the dirty corruption of money as being a half-baked anti-federalist longing for the purity of the small republic. Aint going to work. Real campaign finance reform is freedom of information: let the candidates take whatever money they want in whatever quantity, but provide the means for the public to know exactly how much, where, when and how. That's the incentive to not take the wrong contributions, and it's beginning to have an effect.
The problem remains with the asinine laws we have in place at the moment, particularly the monstrosity that is McCain-Feingold. How fitting then that the first beneficiary on the Republican side of McCain's hard work on campaign finance is the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth: Kevin at Wizbang has the details on how in their first week, they've raised almost 400 grand.
Whoa....TOO much information!
I know he's jonesing for publicity, but even I was taken aback a bit opening up the Washington Post yesterday looking for the latest pithy political commentary from Funky Winkerbean, only to have the cover of the Post Sunday magazine to come flopping onto the bathroom floor:
All I can say, is, congratulations Bill!
UPDATE: Celluloid Wisdom has the Top Nine suggested names for the Jessica Cutler Breakfast Cereal. Only read if you have your beverage sneeze guard installed over your monitor...